(WASHINGTON, DC) - (+VIDEO) - In a speech on the Senate Floor today, U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), a current member and former Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today slammed repeated efforts by the Obama Administration and Congressional Democrats to silence opponents and limit free speech. Citing the IRS’s political targeting scandal, the Senate Democratic Leadership’s attacks on conservative Americans, and a number of other troubling actions, Hatch said that Washington Democrats should focus on pressing issues facing our country, like our struggling economy and massive debt.

“Over the past few years, we’ve seen a pattern coming from the other side, both here in the Senate and in the White House, of using whatever tools are available to intimidate critics and marginalize opposition,” Hatch stated. “It is an ongoing effort on the other side to undermine free speech and impose limits on Americans’ participation in the political process.”